It rained the day your mother gave you away
by mmmburger
Summary: James gets a shock when a battered and beaten Sirius turns up outside his window one night, and starts to wonder how he didn't notice what was happening to his friend before. SBJP.
1. Arrival

Hmm, despite my love of Remus/Sirius fic I've always seen Sirius/James as a definite possibility, and I think it's a wonderful pairing. This story is nothing particularly original; I just wanted to try writing James' character because I've got a fairly clear idea of him in my head. Enjoy! 

"Shame of my flesh! Blood Traitor! Abomination!"

Every sentence was accompanied by a blow to the dark-haired boy's side. Usually a force to be reckoned with, Sirius was now cowering in the corner as his mother pointed her wand at him, fury in her eyes. 

What had started as a mere argument had gone much further – Mrs. Black didn't like being called an 'old hag' to her face. Now it seemed as though she was taking out sixteen years' worth of anger on her son. At first he had tried to resist, dodging blows and even trying to get a couple of his own in with his wand. A sixth year was, however, no match for a fully trained witch; especially one with more than her fair share of skill in the Dark Arts. 

Bruised and exhausted, Sirius was just praying that it would all be over soon, that his mother would get bored of him and return to praising Regulus. He didn't think his shaking knees could hold him up much longer, and there was no way he was going to end up on the ground in front of that woman. 

The thought had barely entered his mind when his legs gave out…

Seeming satisfied that the boy had finally got what he deserved; Mrs. Black left the room without a word. Sirius dragged himself to his knees, shaking his shaggy black hair in an attempt to clear his head. He couldn't get his thoughts properly straightened out, but one word was clear in his mind. 

"James"

If anyone could help him, it'd be Prongs. He couldn't go to Remus, his parents didn't allow visitors under any circumstances, and Peter lived too far away. But James, James lived only a half hour's walk away - just a few minutes by broom. 

Mind made firmly up, Sirius grabbed his broom from the wardrobe and kicked off out the window. Wincing at the pain in his side he gripped the handle tightly and made for Godric's Hollow. 

***

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James Potter sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes groggily.

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Someone was knocking on his window. He checked his watch – it was past midnight. Pulling back the curtains a little nervously he was shocked to see Sirius' face looking back at him. The boy looked ready to fall off his broom. Opening the window hastily to let his friend in, James started to ask questions. 

"What are you doing here? What happened? You look terrible…"

Sirius just shook his head and clambered through the window frame. As soon as his feet touched solid ground his knees buckled once again. James knelt worriedly by his friend's side. 

"Please tell me what's going on, Siri…"

He reached out towards the other boy, but Sirius flinched away from the touch and his arm rose as though to shield his face from something.  

"Hey, it's only me. I'm not going to… Oh God, what happened? Seriously."

Sirius shirt had ripped at the seams, and when he'd lifted his arm James had caught sight of the mass of bruises covering his side. He visibly paled and grasped his friend by the wrist, looking him hard in the eyes.

"Tell me."

"My mum…" Sirius muttered, avoiding James' steady gaze. "That bitch. She… well, she got a bit annoyed at me."

Disbelief crossed the bespectacled boy's face. Sirius had always complained about his parents, but somehow he'd never thought they'd be quite as bad as his friend had made them out to be. Mentally kicking himself for being so ignorant, he put an arm around Sirius' shoulders and made as if to help him to his feet. The shaggy-haired figure made no move to get up.

"I'm too exhausted James… Just let me sit here for a while…"

"Okay so," James said, settling down on the floor as well. "I've got all the time in the world."

The two of them ended up falling asleep there, James' arm still wrapped around Sirius' shoulder. And that was how Mrs. Potter found them the next morning. 

***

James awoke the next morning to an exclamation of surprise from his mother. He was about to get up when he noticed his arm still draped around his friend, and Sirius' head on his shoulder. He couldn't move without waking him, so settled for talking to his mother from the floor instead. 

"What in Merlin's name is Sirius doing here, James?!"

"He came in through the window last night. I think something happened at home, but he didn't seem too keen to talk about it…"

"You should've woken me dear, if something was wrong. Poor old Sirius, he has it rough."

"Really?" James wondered how she knew, and why Padfoot hadn't told him before… No, he *had* told him before. 

'I was just too stupid to take him seriously,' he thought angrily. 'And now look at the state he's in.'

He tightened his grip, almost protectively, on the other boy's shoulder.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" 

"He mentioned his mother, but other than that I don't know. He looked ready to fall apart – I didn't want to push him to tell me if he didn't want to."

"Well wake him up soon and we'll see what we can do for him."

James nodded, grateful that his mother was being so good-natured about it all. Then again, it wasn't the first time Sirius had shown up out of the blue – though he'd never arrived in the middle of the night before. 

Come to think of it… last time Sirius had appeared there'd been a huge bruise on his back. It was explained away as a Quidditch accident, and James had forgotten all about it. 

Thinking back, it seemed that Sirius had always had some sort of injury when he arrived at the Potters'. It never was never something that weighed too heavily on James' mind, he himself usually had bruises or cuts somewhere on his frame from falling off his broomstick, out of trees, or sometimes just tripping over his own two feet. 

But Sirius… James couldn't believe that someone could do that to the boy. He also couldn't believe that Sirius had Ilet/I anyone do that to him – he was always so quick to stand up for himself.

This was a whole new side to his friend; one James wasn't sure he wanted to see.

T.B.C.


	2. All patched up

James cautiously removed his arm from around Sirius' shoulders, trying unsuccessfully not to wake him. Sirius opened his eyes and looked blearily around, a look of confusion crossing his face as he saw James. He blinked a few times, then seemed to get a grip on himself and remember where he was. 

"Feeling better, mate?"

"I guess…"

James watched as Sirius got up off the floor. Though the boy tried hard to hide it, it was fairly obvious that he was still in pain. He was holding his left arm slightly out to one side to stop it hitting off his bruised ribs and wincing every time he had to bend over even a little bit. 

            Getting to his feet as well, James made as though to put his arm around Sirius again, but stopped at an impatient gesture from his friend. 

            "I'm fine, James. Just a bit stiff. Sleeping on the floor doesn't agree with me."

'No, it's your mother's beating that doesn't agree with you,' thought James, but said nothing. Sirius had a terrible streak of pride. Nothing could be said or done that would make him admit that he was hurt. 

            "Do you feel up to having some breakfast? My mum was in here a while ago and she said to come downstairs when you woke up."

Sirius' eyes widened slightly.

            "Did she mind that I was here? I don't want to piss her off. I shouldn't have come in the middle of the night, it's just that…"

            "Siri," James interrupted. "It's fine. Don't get so worked up, Mum doesn't mind at all."

            "You sure?" Asked his friend anxiously.

            "Positive."

            "Ok then, let's go. I guess I _am _kinda hungry."

            "Good, 'cause I'm famished."

The two went into the kitchen, where they found Mary Potter sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea. She looked up and smiled when the boys came through the door. 

            "Hi Sirius. Haven't seen you for a while, dear." She put her cup down on the table and stood up. "I hear you had a rough time last night, let's see what we can do for you." Walking over to a shelf by the sink she started to take down various bottles and boxes.

            "I'm fine, really," Sirius mumbled as James' mum deposited her armload on the table and steered him towards a chair next to the collection of medicine.

            "Of course you are," she replied. "Now lift up your arm for me."

James nearly chuckled as Sirius meekly did everything that was asked of him. His mum was a nurse, and knew exactly how to deal with people. He watched as his friend unbuttoned his shirt – any thoughts of laughing vanished when he caught sight of the full extent of Sirius' injuries. Ugly red weals marred his side, and bruises littered the skin around them. A sharp intake of breath came from his mother as she saw the same thing. James cursed himself for not having called her as soon as Sirius turned up. He shouldn't have spent the night on the floor; he belonged in hospital or, at the very least, in a bed. 

Sirius looked up at James and gave a half-hearted grin.

"It's not as bad as it looks, really."

"I somehow doubt that," came Mary Potter's voice. "Hmm, I can't do much more than bandage you up for now. We'll have to wait for Harold to get home to heal you properly."

"Mum's not a witch, you see," James explained to Sirius. "She works in a Muggle hospital."

"We could take you there, Sirius."

"No, please. I'll wait for your dad, James. They'll want to call my parents if I go to a hospital and, if you ignore the fact that they don't actually _have_ a phone in the first place, I don't really want them to know where I am right now."

"Alright so, Harold should be home around nine. You two will have to amuse yourselves until then; I've got to work a shift at the hospital," Mrs. Potter glanced down at her watch. "And I'm supposed to be there in five minutes!" She grabbed her coat, gave James a peck on the cheek and practically flew out of the house – stopping only to tell them that Sirius' bandages would need to be changed every couple of hours. 

"So…" James said a little awkwardly, trying to think of a subject other than Sirius' injuries. "What d'you want to do for the next eleven hours?"

***

And that was part two of my not-so-original story. I'm enjoying writing this, even though it's really clichéd. The world needs more Sirius/James fiction!!!


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